BJP poll panel to meet today, may name Kiran Bedi Delhi CM candidate

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Jan 19, 2015: The BJP’s Central Election Committee is scheduled to hold a meeting on Monday during which former IPS officer Kiran Bedi is most likely to be named as the party’s Chief Ministerial candidate for Delhi Assembly Elections.

The Central Election Committee is also expected to declare the list of BJP candidates for the upcoming Assembly Elections.

The meeting, which will be attended by top BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah, will also deliberate on the poll strategy.  

Though the BJP is yet to officially name Bedi as its CM candidate, the former IPS officer has been projecting herself as the frontrunner for the chief minister’s chair. Interestingly, Bedi met BJP MPs from Delhi on Sunday evening to review the work done in their respective constituencies.

She is leading the party to coin slogans for the party, a formula Prime Minister Narendra Modi used in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. However, a section of local BJP leaders are visibly upset over the high command’s choice to project her as CM candidate in the Delhi elections.

The fight for Delhi is crucial for the BJP and a win here would cap off a brilliant run in Assembly Elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and J&K. However, the BJP top brass is worried that faulty selection of candidates could affect the results.

With less than three weeks to go for the elections, the Delhi BJP seems to be in disarray, and has been dogged by infighting and lack of clarity. A south Delhi rally by Shah had to be cancelled on Saturday due to lack of coordination in the party’s city unit.

Confusion over the CM nominee and lack of movement on candidate selection has created chaos in the city unit, sources within BJP say. While one section of the party is upset with Bedi becoming the top choice for the CM’s post, another section feels that the party now has a prominent face in Delhi who can woo the youth, women, middle-class and service class as well as Sikh voters in the national capital.

Though BJP is still strong and ahead of the rival Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) according to various poll surveys, the lack of clarity is making party workers increasingly confused and de-motivated.

The AAP and the Congress have already declared their candidates, many of whom have started campaigning and filed their nominations. For the December 2013 polls, the BJP had wrapped up its candidate selection a month in advance.
 
Elections to 70-member Delhi Assembly will be held on February 7 and results would be announced on February 10. Nominations can be filed up to January 22.

The BJP is likely to contest majority of the total of 70 seats, leaving some to its ally Akali Dal. Last time, it had fought for 66 seats and gave four to Akali Dal.

 

Courtesy: Zeenews